A New Era of Financial Responsibility

Whew… A long week for me last week. Traveling, working, and spending time with my son. It left me little time to pursue my passion of writing here at SUFA. But now I am back to work on the site for a couple weeks until I have to travel again for two weeks. Tonight I want to talk about something that I have been wanting to talk about all week. I want to tread into the realm of financial reform and financial responsibility as put forth by our federal government. This article is going to address some things, mostly done by the Obama administration, but really simply pertains to our federal government in general. To be honest, the words fiscal and responsibility should not even be allowed to be used in the same sentence with federal government, unless it is done to point out a lack of it. The sheer magnitude of fiscal ineptitude displayed by the federal government is staggering, and it has now pushed us both to the edge of financial disaster and to the brink of full government control over the private industry in the United States. This is both infuriating and scary as hell. And I have to say that I have taken one step closer to believing a rebellion is the only answer.

First there is the financial reform bill that has been passed and signed into law during this last week. According to the Obama administration, the bill creates a body within the Federal Reserve aimed at protecting consumers, oversight of the derivatives market, and a way for the government to take over and dismantle failing financial firms. Read that last one carefully folks, TAKE OVER AND DISMANTLE failing financial firms. In other words, we are being asked to trust the federal government to determine who to dismantle and who to let live. Is there anyone in America who is not a far left kool-aid drinker who believes that this is going to be done in an impartial manner? Because I don’t believe that for a second. And let me tell you why:

I watched as the Troubled Asset Relief Fund was administered, “saving” those few big banks who were deemed “too big to fail”, allowing all the small banks to perish along the way. The “too big to fail” got BIGGER and the end result was something that I knew instinctively was bad for our future: Centralization. Anyone who understands control and how the government intends to enforce also understands that a primary need is to centralize the power over the economy in a way that will make them easier to control. They can’t control a hundred million independent banks, but they can easily control things if they consolidate power into ten superbanks. And that is what they have done.

Further, the financial reform bill does very little in the way of reforming anything. It merely gave the government power to do whatever it likes. The real work is yet to be done. The body created by the legislation will now quietly go about creating whatever rules and regulations that it likes without regard to public opinion or scrutiny. After all, now that Congress is done doing the public “work”, the committee can do what it likes, and no one will be paying attention. They won’t answer to anyone. There will be little to no oversight of what they do. Further intrusions into the private marketplace can now occur without anyone knowing a thing about it until they are implemented, which means too late to stop them.

What else is going to happen as a result of the financial reform bill that has passed? To be honest, there is a lot that we don’t know, because as usual, they took 2,300+ pages to basically set up a committee that will figure out the rest of the steps. Of course that is because of the pork involved and the other areas that they wanted to address. For example, the bill will require thousands of U.S. companies to show what steps they are taking to ensure that the products they make, including laptops, cellphones and medical devices, don’t contain “conflict minerals” from the Congo. That will have a fairly dramatic impact on manufacturing in America, as one fifth of the Tantalum used in those devices worldwide comes from the Congo. The law contains no provisions for punishment yet, but they are already talking in Washington about sanctions and penalties. Why would any company want to manufacture in this country, where they spend more in reporting and taxes than they do in labor and materials?

What this bill will really do is further allow for the manipulation of the market by both the federal government and the large corporations who are involved. Wall Street gains extra time and ability to manipulate regulations quietly in back room deals. Or to put it more bluntly, the corporations that only have the ability to manipulate the market because of government, have now been given additional resources to manipulate the market. DC insiders will have the ability to influence the failure or flourishing of organizations based on loyalty and campaign contributions. Is there really anyone other than the kool-aid drinkers who really believe that the federal government would pass a bill that did anything other than give themselves more power, influence, and ability to profit from industry in America?

And just to add a little fire to the one world government conspiracy folks, there is the reality that the government sees the bill as a robust way to work towards that. There are many provisions in the legislation that are based on world economic decisions by groups such as the G20 or the United Nations. In fact, Treasury Thief Timothy Geithner came right out and said so, albeit in a round about way when bragging on the influence that the bill gives us. He said, “I am very confident with the strong hand that this (the legislation just passed) gives us, that we will be able to bring the world with us.”

I must say that I am further troubled with this concept that the world economy is what is important. It isn’t that I don’t see the interplay between the world’s economy and ours. It is that I don’t see it as our responsibility to prop up the world or to take steps that hurt ourselves in order to better the situation globally. On the contrary, I believe that as one of the largest economies in the world, we can set the pace by doing what is best for US, and if we do it correctly, the rest of the world will benefit from a strong American economy. Obviously, the idiot Keynesians don’t believe this to be true. They first falsely believe that they can control the economy with their madness and regulations. They second falsely believe that we must suffer for the betterment of the world.

And herein lies my issue with how all of the financial stuff has played out over the last couple of years. Obviously there has been trouble, but I believe that the trouble has been caused by the federal government’s ineptness when it comes to the economy. They truly believe that it is government that makes the economy happen. They truly believe that they are the ones who make things run smoothly or not. And they couldn’t be further from the truth. The market did just fine for a very long time with minimal government interference. Government intrusion into the market has slowly and efficiently killed the economy of the United States. Remember what I said last week: Government cannot create wealth, they can only steal it and redistribute it. Only private enterprise can create wealth and grow the economy. That is a fact, despite the lies coming out of Washington DC.

And since government absolutely cannot create wealth and cannot grow an economy, the fact is that the only way for things to begin to turn around in America is for the government to begin getting out of the way of private industry in this country. I don’t want to hear any more inane stuff about how corporations are evil and must be controlled. An evil corporation is the exception, not the rule, and a few bad ones will not kill our economy, despite the dire warnings from Geithner and company. I don’t want to hear any more of this inane nonsense about how the way to fix things it to take from the “have’s” and redistribute it to the “have not’s”. Wealth doesn’t “trickle up”. It just doesn’t happen, no matter how much Obama and company continue to ask their fairy godmother to make it true. I don’t want to hear any more of this inane blasphemy that the wealthy only get that way on the backs of the poor. The wealthy get that way by providing a good or service that is needed. They cannot force people to partake in what they offer or to work for them for cheap. They cannot do that, unless of course they have the federal government mandating that it be so.

ENOUGH!

Our rise to financial power as a country came without a 75,000 page tax code or ridiculous reams of regulation on every aspect of business. We rose to being the premier economy in the world within the confines of a market that was drastically more free than the faux free market that is claimed to be the problem now. The problem is not a free market. The problem is that we don’t have a free market. Capitalism is not working out so well recently because the backbone of capitalism is a market that is free to grow, shrink, correct, and evolve without the cancerous hand of government attempting to dictate the terms. The progressive movement in America is pure, unadulterated evil. And there is no more concrete proof of that than the fact that they have done their best to eliminate as much freedom in the market as possible and then blame the problems on what freedom remains.

Mark my words. They now control the health insurance industry. But any future problems in that industry and its eventual failure to work will be blamed on the fact that they didn’t have complete control. They now have control of the financial industry. But any future problems in that industry and its eventual failure to work will be blamed on the fact that they didn’t have complete control. They now have control of the entire economy. But any future problems in the economy and its eventual failure will be blamed on the fact that they didn’t have complete control. It is the level of control that they DO have have will make all of America fail financially, and they will sell you on the idea that it was what they didn’t control that was the problem. So they will then work to eliminate that as well.

Our federal government is completely out of control and completely clueless when it comes to fiscal matters. We are running a deficit of 1.4 TRILLION dollars. Our National Debt is 13.3 TRILLION dollars. You can blame Bush all you want, but he topped out around $550 Billion. Obama has tripled that in just 18 months! And at a time when we are watching our economy crumble, this administration has passed some of the most expensive future programs in history. Two of them in the last 6 months (health care and financial reform). And they now have their sights on yet another: Energy “reform” (Cap and Trade). They are spending like teenagers given daddy’s black AMEX card with no limits. They claim that this is needed to save us. But that is an outright lie. They need to pass it because the progressives may never have this opportunity again. And we all know they don’t like to “waste an opportunity (or a crisis for that matter)“!

And amid all the madness that is the federal government spending machine, we have idiots like Timothy Geithner, who want us to believe that he really didn’t know he had to pay those taxes yet is capable of being Treasury Secretary, making statements about why letting the Bush Tax cuts expire on the top earners is responsible, such as: “We think that’s the responsible thing to do, because we need to make sure we can show the world that (we’re) willing as a country now to start to make some progress bringing down our long-term deficits.”Really? The federal government’s top economic idiot has the audacity to say that we are going to show the world that we are responsible and working to eliminate our debt? At the rate you fracking idiots are spending, you could confiscate 100% of all American’s wages and still not get into the black in this decade. Responsibility? You should be shot for even muttering the word you lying hypocrite. It’s easy for you to say the wealthy should pay more taxes when you don’t bother to pay your own. Asshats are running the government. Geithner is one of their leaders.

Here is the bottom line, dear SUFA readers. The federal government has become the problem when it comes to our economy. It is time to stop this madness. It is time to put our boot on the throat of government and remind those asshats that we can see behind the curtain and that they are impotent little men and women who have for too long believed themselves to be gods. It will not be painless. Our economy will get worse before it gets better. But there will only be worse without the possibility of better so long as we let these psychos run the asylum that our economy has become. It is time to take back our economy and our free capitalist market. It is not just our right or ourprerogative. It is our duty. I am reminded of some words written many years ago by men facing the same kind of economic oppression that we face today…..

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

The time has come. The government cannot fix our financial woes. We must strip them of any power over the economy of the United States and instill freedom and liberty back into our financial futures. It is the only way we can ever begin to heal and once again find a world where the prospect of equal opportunity exists for all. It is the only way to restore the dream that once was America.

Comments

Ah, yes . . . The “Obamacare Financial Reform Bill” (sound familiar?) . . . Kind of like the health care reform bill . . . Or shall we call this one new show (that really is not a new show at all, but just a remake of everything he has done since elected) “The Messiah Knows Best” ?!?

I hate to say it, USW, but I have been screaming from the rooftops for over a year now that “We The People” need to get up off our fat butts and DO SOMETHING before it is too late . . . And the answer I got from EVERYONE at SUFA was “We need to philosophize about all this before we decide on a direction to take” . . . Oh yes, discussing philosophy is what we need to do, yessereee-bob!

While all of you were discussing philosophy, The Messiah Hisself and his little Obamatrons in the Senate and House of Representatives passed Obamacare which included Federally funded abortions and “end of life” options and now they have successfully engineered the total takeover of ALL your finances.

Do you know what is coming next?

Say it real slowly now . . . . CAP & TRADE!!!!!!!!!

Here is what you need to do;

READ THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION! . . . . . Within the boundaries of that little document is all the legal horsepower that you need to put an end to this charade and put this country back on the RIGHT track.

YOU young people have to do it because it is YOUR future that is at stake here. There are too many turncoats within us old farts to be able to do it for you. Remember, those in DC now are the same folks who were in the “Turn on, tune out & drop acid” bunch of the 1960’s anti-establishment groupies.

I would find a group that was marching on DC (like Glenn Beck’s 8/28 scheduled gathering) and join them. I would also look to become an activist in my local area and spread the word on what is really happening . . . I.E. tell all your friends and neighbors!

If you were hiking in Yellowstone and stumbled upon a grizzly you would become his dinner because even though you were packing a pistol you wouldn’t have time to pull it and fire!You would be too busy contemplating why you should pull it because it probably wouldn’t do any good or some such bullshit!

I’ve been with grizzlies, so I know no puny handgun is going to stop that biological tank. 303’s bounce off of its skull. If you ain’t packin’ a bazooka, you’re in trouble if it decides it doesn’t like you.

Futile action, Tex, is …well…FUTILE. If you waste a minute trying to change Washington, you lost a minute trying to change city council. It’s that simple.

You can relax. It died on the Senate floor. They may be stupid, but not so stupid to know they’d be totally wiped out if that went through.

Next, G.A., the Constitution is the problem, sir, it is not the answer. What you have now is what that document created.

Lastly, you cannot change Washington D.C. – it is insulated from your trivial rants. If you want to make a difference, start with your city/town politics and get them under control. Then move to the State level.

BF said “You can relax. It died on the Senate floor. They may be stupid, but not so stupid to know they’d be totally wiped out if that went through.”

G.A. Says – They do not need Congress anymore, for they have made Congress irrelevant with this finance bill and the previous health bill – SURPRISE – there were much more in those bills than health and finance reform, or didn’t you take the time (like all of those legislators who voted FOR those 2,000+ page bills) to read them?

BF said “Next, G.A., the Constitution is the problem, sir, it is not the answer. What you have now is what that document created.”

G.A. says – Wrong again my furry little friend (I envision you as the Captain with a full black beard on Beanie and Cecil . . . a cartoon character from my generation), what we have now is the bastardization of what it created, which has been caused by “We The People” forgetting what it was intended for – for US to run ruff shod over those we elect – which we haven’t done for almost more than a hundred years now.

BF said “Lastly, you cannot change Washington D.C. – it is insulated from your trivial rants. If you want to make a difference, start with your city/town politics and get them under control. Then move to the State level.”

G.A. says – Oh, I suppose that is what they have done now is it? How come almost every city and state in this country has rejected en mass the ramming down our throats the policies of the Obama administration? This weekend they held a convention (of sorts) in Las Vegas and the main subject of their talks was how to get the local governments to accept them with open hearts instead of trying to run them through with pitchforks!

Perhaps, BF, if you ACTUALLY read that little document . . . But that would take a positive effort on your part, now wouldn’t it? It seems to me that the only effort you are willing to take is a negative one.

BF STated:”Next, G.A., the Constitution is the problem, sir, it is not the answer. What you have now is what that document created.”

TC:Well I say thats a load of crap.Read the papers again BF.I also say that it was not the Constitution itself that allowed the madness happening today but A COMPLACENT AMERICAN population.We can expound upon that if you wish sir!

My God BF; when troubleshooting a problem don’t you think it best to dig down deep into the heart of the problem and discern the ROOT CAUSE man?

The Constitution created a central, powerful Federal Government. That is what you are experiencing, the complete and consistent manifestation of that. Wanting to “go back to the Constitution” lands you …. right here and now.

In the 1800’s the People were even MORE complacent if that is your measure. Few, if ever, dealt with the Federal government – few even knew who their “Representative” was because – he didn’t matter for much.

If anything, today the people are MORE into government violence – they want this and that and things and actions from the government to take over the things individuals should be doing for themselves. “We ought to make a law…” is a recent phenomena, Tex.

BF, in the 1800’s the states had more control and not the federal government. The federal government began its push for total control during the Wilson presidency in the early 1900’s. That was the beginning of the Progressive Movement. FDR, during the 1930’s, did more harm to our country (except the currant Messiah) than any President in history.

Sheesh!?! . . . One would think that a bona-fide member of MENSA could get his history right . . . ;-)

Again, this is more an issue of the people and of indoctrination and complacency. And also of desire for power to exist. Some desire more power, some desire someone else to have power to “take care of” things they do not wish to handle. There are those who demand to be governed.

The Constitution is a piece of paper, meaning that without enforcement it has no power. Technically, since it granted government power, it has the power to take it, and if it is ignored, that power is null and void, but like our currency, it is just paper, so it is only worth what people believe it is worth.

Nate, they do not need a house or Senate vote anymore, the provisions in this finance bill and the past health bill has allowed Obama to appoint “regulators” or “Czars” to implement things under those provisions – which is now known as “existing” laws since the House and Senate passed them and Obama has signed them into law and now his lop-sided U.S. Supreme Court will not challenge them!

Is there anyone in America who is not a far left kool-aid drinker who believes that this is going to be done in an impartial manner?

As someone who qualifies as a far left kool-aid drinker … No, I doubt it would be done in an impartial manner. On the other hand, I had to stop here because I feel the same way about those on the far right who believe total degulation will lead to a stable and/or fair market. One perspective is as delusional as the other. If what has happened with BP (I remember you writing they shouldn’t be demonized) is an example of what we can expect (and regulations were already in place that were ignored from bribes, corruption and let’s face it, a general business first attitude in Washington), a totally free market could only be worse.

But I digress … it isn’t to demonize big business, it’s to provide a fair wage to workers. Not fair to what big business thinks, but fair as regards what any particular job adds to the whole. So those shareholders sitting on their duffs don’t get to make the sweat of their brow argument vs. the guys ruining their backs working a shovel.

Charlie, if government is as subject to corruption as big business, which is obviously the case, then regulations do not make things better. A company like BP is subject to the whims of the consumer. IF they can say they are doing all they can and shake hands with the government, then it helps their image. If government had nothing to do with them, three things would be different:
1) They would have to save their image on their own. No government help there, and people would put the blame on them alone.

2) The spill would have been cleaned and capped faster. With no government regulations screwing with the process, it would be taken care of. BP does not want a major oil spill. It hurts their image and costs them money. I don’t care how corrupt you are, you will work your ass off to make sure those things are taken care of.

3) The deepwater horizon would never have been drilled, because BP would be drilling for oil closer to shore or up in ANWR where its safer to get at and easier to fix a problem.

Deregulation worse? Not bloody likely. Also, its not a particularly right wing idea. The right does not want to deregulate, they want to remove safety and environmental standards but do so in a way that keeps strings attatched and is read by the deregulated company as a favor to them to be repaid. Deregulation, the way the right wing does it, is just a bribe system.

Charlie, if government is as subject to corruption as big business, which is obviously the case, then regulations do not make things better.

I’m with you so far, Jon, but …

A company like BP is subject to the whims of the consumer. IF they can say they are doing all they can and shake hands with the government, then it helps their image. If government had nothing to do with them, three things would be different:
1) They would have to save their image on their own. No government help there, and people would put the blame on them alone.

Or it could do what was done in Nigeria, where a well has been leaking for 50 years. My guess, BP and the like would opt for the cheap way out and either ignore the spill or do what they’re doing now. For all the concern about the gulf spill, think about it, the reactions have been tame. People in NY might say, “what a shame” but they’re not about to storm the bastille (as those who live on the Gulf probably should have already).

2) The spill would have been cleaned and capped faster. With no government regulations screwing with the process, it would be taken care of. BP does not want a major oil spill. It hurts their image and costs them money. I don’t care how corrupt you are, you will work your ass off to make sure those things are taken care of.

I’m sure BP doesn’t “want” a major oil spill, but they’re concerns obviously were way down the list of preventing one (800 violations) … what happened in Houston 5 years ago (15 killed). Again, that with regulations (that are ignored). Why would no regulations make a difference? Aren’t they concerned about their image now?

3) The deepwater horizon would never have been drilled, because BP would be drilling for oil closer to shore or up in ANWR where its safer to get at and easier to fix a problem.

I used to be a “drill baby drill” guy until this mess. ANWR might be safe (might) but this deep sea move sure wasn’t.

Deregulation worse? Not bloody likely. Also, its not a particularly right wing idea. The right does not want to deregulate, they want to remove safety and environmental standards but do so in a way that keeps strings attatched and is read by the deregulated company as a favor to them to be repaid. Deregulation, the way the right wing does it, is just a bribe system.

I don’t see how, in a global economy, anyone can assume that deregulation wouldn’t be worse, but I hear your argument and it is bolstered by the absolute corruption and ineptness of our government and all its useless agencies. That said, I don’t believe big money would compete fairly (not in one billion years; it being a requirement of the economic system to get bigger). BF has made arguments about how smaller businesses would eat away at the larger ones, but I think that train left the station 200 years ago. In a global economy (with all the opportunities to incorporate cheap labor and an ever growing population), I suspect things could only get worse.

But I’m with regarding this government and its inability to do just about anything right. The problem for me is left alone, I don’t see the money power that be risking being eaten by the smaller companies and they’d have way too great an advantage to take them down through a free market.

There might be other reasons than greed or corperate corruption keeping them from stopping the leaks. I would have to ask myself, is it worth dying for? And wouldn’t ANWR be drilled on the shore. Does Alaska have many hurricanes? Sure sound safer to me, but I am kinda gullible.

DAKAR, Senegal — Officials and human rights groups in Nigeria sharply increased the count of the dead after a weekend of vicious ethnic violence, saying Monday that as many as 500 people — many of them women and children — may have been killed near the city of Jos, long a center of tensions between Christians and Muslims.

A funeral was held on Monday for victims of violence in Dogon Na Hauwa, a village south of Jos, Nigeria. Nearly 400 of the dead were buried in a mass grave.

The dead were Christians and members of an ethnic group that had been feuding with the Hausa-Fulani, Muslim herders whom witnesses and police officials identified as the attackers. Officials said the attack was in reprisal for violence in January, when dozens of Muslims were slaughtered in and around Jos, including more than 150 in one village.

Read about Henry Ford sometime. Much of his success came from paying much higher wages than anyone else at the time, improving working conditions, etc.., all done for greedy self-interest.

Bottom Line & Flag had an interesting exchange on #29’s open mic….

8wfkjweer0629 said
July 24, 2010 at 1:54 pm

Okay, lemme get this straight – they(GM) used faulty business practices that resulted in bankruptcy.

So to reward them for their mistakes, the government borrows a bunch of money, bails them out, and forces us to foot the bill until they can get back on their feet.

Now GM owns a bank and due to the enormous pressure they face, are giving loans to people so they can buy cars that they’re already paying for via taxes.

As far as I am concerned, they should be giving cars away for free.

I’m tempted to go to a GM dealership, get a loan for and buy an escalade, immediately take it to a chop shop, sell it for a fraction of it’s worth, and report it stolen.

When GM sues me for the value of an SUV they cannot find/repossess, I’ll file bankruptcy and include the expense as a deduction on my taxes.

I figure it’s fair game at this point.:)
Reply

*
Black Flag said
July 24, 2010 at 2:03 pm

Don’t start buying into the idea the GM had faulty business practices.

The fact is, you would have done worse.

They had an impossible situation thrust upon them. The government allowed employees to the ability to kidnap and ransom car factories.

GM had only two choices, pay the ransom or close.

They paid the ransom, over and over again, until the ransom exceed the price of the cars they made. Then they were forced to close the doors.

The government – having prevented GM from protecting their factories, now faced the Unions losing their jobs – so the government had to try to fix the damage they caused in the first place – and bailed out GM.

When government by force distorts the marketplace – it will ALWAYS create an even more deeper challenge in the market place somewhere else.

I know this oversimplifies the issue, but to chalk it up to a labor union demanding health care? If I belonged to a union, you bet your a** I’d be demanding the best health care possible at the lowest cost to me.

Who said business couldn’t provide health care, who said people couldn’t form Unions-most people on here are for freedom of the individual which makes both these ideas good -it is the government backed unions that are not based on a mutually beneficial agreement between the parties that is the problem.

Look. Just the other day, there was a UAW rep on the Cavuto show jumping up and down about the new Toyota plant they were announcing that they were going to build to MS. 2000 NEW JOBS FOR MISSISSIPPI!!!!!!!.

This asshole was having a fit because Toyota was not going to allow the UAW into their new plant. He said they would never open the doors tho this plant without the UAW. He swore before God that not single car would be made without the UAW.

Now someone please explain to this obviously simpleton Georgian why or how this will either be POSSIBLE or even be ALLOWED.

Seems to me the people of MS will just be happy with what will still be 2000 very good paying jobs WITHOUT the UAW.

Buck: Here’s a potential issue regarding a non-union shop; what happens when the technology permits Honda, Toyota or anybody else from producing the cars in India (like what they’ve done to my job); the labor being so cheap they can afford the shipping costs. Another bunch of American jobs (manufacturing jobs) are outsourced.

They are building the plant in Mississippi Charlie. How is that outsourcing?

And who is feeling sorry for the UAW, who just coincidentally now owns GM? I sure as hell don’t!

And one more question. Exactly how does the UAW figure they are going to tell a Japanese firm whether of not they will allow a Union which has already DESTROYED 2 American Car Companies in THEIR plant?

I am from the South. We don’t particularly lake Unions dictating jack shit to us! We just want the damn jobs!

We can always stop giving tax incentives and close existing loopholes to help alleviate the issue.

I agree that in many cases the unions have become too ‘powerful’. However, placing the blame (even partial blame) for GM’s failure on unions for demanding health care?

Unions are a great thing – they have provided innumerable benefits to the average worker. They are largely responsible for a living wage, health care benefits, etc. Do they go too far in certain instances? Of course. But I am tired of hearing so many on the right blame unions for all (or many) of today’s economic problems.

LOI: For every henry ford there’s the clown who owned the yankees the season after Mantle had his triple crown and wanted him to take a decucton for not winning it again … or there’s the guy responsible for the last mining disaster, who ignored violations until it exploded.

Trust me, I’ve had it with this government (and do see how it is a major screwup) and I understand and accept that certain very conservative measure would have to be put in place in order for us to begin to straighten things out (and that during that time, a lot of people will suffer), but I still don’t see how deregulation would make it any better and can only see the bad that would ensue from completely deregulated markets).

BF: The miner found it more cost efficient to let people die. That’s insane. Perhaps if the regulations included hanging the SOB (or seizing all his assets and letting him live in a shack in the future), he would’ve paid more attention to the regulations.

Something tells me the miner is going to do just fine, BF, but those who died, well, they’re screwed, as are their families. Way too nonchalant an answer. Mining is risky business (more so for those doing the actually mining than the guy sitting at home in his A.C.

Personally, I believe what is missing is honest oversight. Regulations are in place and have been for some time…those just seem to snowball. If EVERYONE was held to the regulations (oversight) then perhaps it would level the playing field a bit.

That said, the amount of regulations needs to be trimmed…IMHO, and then provide the needed oversight…

1. You are a bastid because by answering this, You have set me up to be between you and FLAG.

2. “Trust me, I’ve had it with this government…but I still don’t see how deregulation would make it any better”

How about going a different direction? Dem’s say north, Rep’s say south, both are wrong. What if government was limited? What if their role in oil drilling was limited to a court ruling if BP was at fault for the workers deaths?
A separate court on the oil spill damage to the gulf. And no government caps on what BP pays.

Take government out of enforcement, collection and protection. Leave them the courts and advisory agencies.
BP ignored recommended safety procedures (no harm, no foul).
BP caused deaths and environmental damage (gonna be ‘ell to pay)

Much of the problem in today’s world is the BP’s out there are PROTECTED by the government that is supposed to be protecting us. The EPA and Mineral Management will benefit from the spill, using it as an excuse to grow their agencies. We get to pay for a few thousand more government
workers, and it’s still the business that does it right or wrong. Maybe they have to hire a more paper pusher to fill out the new government forms, but what have you really changed?

I always liked the ppk. tho for a conceal carry, especially one that will possibly be in a purse for months at a time, I would go with a revolved with a non-protruding hammer. Nearly flawless dependability, and it can be shot from inside a purse or pocket without catching or jamming on anything.

I appreciate your thoughts. Here is where I think we differ in our thinking. You seem to believe that the complete deregulation of the market would somehow lead to overwhelming corruption and a far worse situation. I disagree. I am not currently advocating for zero oversight. But I do absolutely advocate for about 1% of the oversight currently in place.

No matter the level of regulation put in place, the government has been proven to be 100% ineffective in stopping bad people from doing bad things. And to make matters worse, their attempts to stop those bad people have done nothing but stifle all of the good people in business, who for the record far outnumber the bad people that you fear. So when an action does nothing to stop the bad people, but stifles the good people, I have to wonder why you would continue to advocate that that action is somehow good or necessary.

Government regulation has done nothing to curb the bad. What has happened is nothing more than government offering protection to the companies that are corrupt enough to pay for it. It is a racket, and one that you understand very well on a more personal level.

The bottom line is this: Government regulation DOES NOT WORK. It doesn’t, period. There is nothing you can point to and say that it does work. So obviously that is not the answer. A free market DOES work, and has in the past. The level of corruption by bad people is MINIMIZED in the free market, while it is maximized and protected in the current system. I find it hard to believe that you really believe that a free market would somehow be worse than where we currently are. That’s insane. At a very basic level, I can sue a corrupt company. On the flip side I can have direct video evidence of currupt government and can do absolutely nothing about it. Which one of those do you think is worse for the people?

Good point about it (gov’t) being pretty much useless (and/or worse), but my contention is that it cannot be THIS government; what we have now is a sad/bad joke. As someone above alluded to, if the government actually enforced the laws already there (including immigration, etc.), perhaps (PERHAPS) we’d find out if regulations work, but so long as the clowns in power now (completely owned by big business) run the show, we’re all at their mercy.

Trust me, USW, I fume at what this government does (from both sides of the aisle). I’ve done nothing but hammer President Fredo (so named by my extreme right wing buddy, DOC, at my sight) over and over.

I am torn about all of this because I truly believe a free market is dangerous when all the power is consolidated (what’s the difference between power being consolidated by money and/or by power being consolidated by what money can buy (i.e., gov’t). I just don’t see the completely free market as a viable option when all the power is already consolidated (I hope I am not confusing on that point–that taking away gov’t regulations now leaves those already with the fazool$ all the power. I love the paradigm BF paints regarding the small eating the big, but I don’t see it being possible in a global economy.

More later, brother … but on another note, our dog Rigoletto is doing GREAT since his $7.7K back surgery. We’ll have him for a few more years … worth every penny.

I had forgotten how bad the pigenholing thing was. Essentially one congressional representative can weild more power than the president himself. We need to remove the games from Congress. We need to remove players too, term limits are essential to reducing corruption.

So true, big business and big government are frequently the same people, swapping jobs back and forth, and we are the ponzi’s.

from Goldman-Sachs article

In 1936, however, Congress recognized that there should never be more speculators in the market than real producers and consumers. If that happened, prices would be affected by something other than supply and demand, and price manipulations would ensue. A new law empowered the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the very same body that would later try and fail to regulate credit swaps — to place limits on speculative trades in commodities. As a result of the CFTC’s oversight, peace and harmony reigned in the commodities markets for more than 50 years.

All that changed in 1991 when, unbeknownst to almost everyone in the world, a Goldman owned commodities trading subsidiary called J. Aron wrote to the CFTC and made an unusual argument, requesting an exemption.

The CFTC, amazingly issued the bank a free pass, called the “Bona Fide Hedging” exemption,

allowing Goldman’s subsidiary to call itself a physical hedger and escape virtually all limits placed on speculators. In the years that followed, the commission would quietly issue 14 similar exemptions to other companies.

I read an article earlier stating that Goldman gave billion of dollars to FOREIGN banks of American Taxpayer dollars to …drum roll please…badahbadahbadhbadh….bail out hedge funds!Hows that grind on yall for our stimulus money at work?

USW,
Brilliantly said. I have been working on a project that is, for me, a last ditch effort to make a change within the system (other than voting). If that is a success, yet has no effect, then I will be ready to overthrow this monster.

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: Britain decentralizing its National Health Care.

Practical details of the plan are still sketchy. But its aim is clear: to shift control of England’s $160 billion annual health budget from a centralized bureaucracy to doctors at the local level. Under the plan, $100 billion to $125 billion a year would be meted out to general practitioners, who would use the money to buy services from hospitals and other health care providers. The plan would also shrink the bureaucratic apparatus, in keeping with the government’s goal to effect $30 billion in “efficiency savings” in the health budget by 2014 and to reduce administrative costs by 45 percent. Tens of thousands of jobs would be lost because layers of bureaucracy would be abolished.

Isn’t it embarrassing that as European nations realize their socialist programs are bankrupting them we have a President and an entire political Party trying to emulate here what is failing there?

My issue with all these plans is that I truly believe that none of it is actually good for us as a whole. I have turned into, sadly, a person that has been convinced that outside of a hand full of people, these folks in office are useless.
I am all about the ind. people this voting time.

You know about Alex Jones and his stuff – all of his stuff is independently verifiable.

That is why he scares the *crap* out of “The New World Order”.

He was one of the first to highlight the Bilderberg’s – everyone laughed at him in the beginning …”Yeah, sure, Jones…there are a bunch of elites who meet in hotel rooms and in the middle of farmer’s fields…”

…and then, *whoa* – these guys really do meet in hotel rooms and in the middle of fields!!!

So, yep – take up his challenge – do NOT TRUST JONES – go out and find out for yourselves.

..and then tell your friends, family and everyone else what you found….

Well folks, I am sorry to say that I am beginning to feel as if Armed revolt may indeed turn out to be the only answer to the conundrum we find ourselves in now.

We have a President who was just elected 1 and a half years ago and is already got Lady Liberty on the floor raping her. And Congress is too busy holding her down to stop him.

This President stood with his hand on a bible and SWORE to uphold the Constitution and protect it against ALL enemies, both foreign AND DOMESTIC.

Well I say the Domestic enemy of America and the Constitution was the very son-of-a-bitch who was taking the oath of office!! I also say that until he is stopped, not only will he destroy this Nation, but will do so with Malice AND Forethought. It has been his plan all along.

Some people who really wanted hope and change, some Kool-aid drinkers, and some of the same people as he is made sure he won the office. Now that he is there, I believe it will, in the end, take force to remove his goofy ass from office. Especially if he wins a second term. If that happens I believe either the Law will be changed, or the Constitution will be torn up and we will suddenly find ourselves prisoners of our own Government. And not enough will wake up until it is already too late to stop it.

So you better start gearing up and making plans Ladies and Gentlemen. I am.

I started making plans the first time I saw him reading his teleprompter to the sheeple worshiping at his feet. I remember how some here at SUFA trashed me for my beliefs at to what the One’s intentions are toward America. They had an easier time then. Now, not so much….

USW Stated:”The sheer magnitude of fiscal ineptitude displayed by the federal government is staggering, and it has now pushed us both to the edge of financial disaster and to the brink of full government control over the private industry in the United States. This is both infuriating and scary as hell. And I have to say that I have taken one step closer to believing a rebellion is the only answer.”

TC:YAY!Welcome to my world for the past year USW!I will save you a seat next to me on the lunatic fringe express!